A Message to Political Pollsters

I cannot take credit for this, but I had to repost on my blog. My wife did a great job summarizing our feelings after 4 Political calls in a row at 10:00 on a Saturday Morning.

I don’t know if any of my friends volunteer their time to make calls for their favorite political candidate, and if you do, I respect your convictions and I commend your dedication. To all candidates including Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama and all the other local ones, I do wonder if you would feel the same way as me if you were to take this little deal. I wonder what it would be like for the President to get a Pollster call on his cell phone while dealing with issues of the world. Is one other person’s time more valuable than mine? I don’t think so, let’s put it in perspective.

The New Deal To The Pollsters

I would like to make a deal with you and I will invoke this the very next time the phone rings. I may even record it so I can post your reaction on YouTube. Here’s my end of the deal – in the next 10 days, I will answer each and every call that comes to my home phone AND my cell phone. I will take your surveys and I will be cheerful and not inconvenienced one teeny, tiny bit.

Here’s YOUR end of the deal. For each call that I answer, I would like to take the home and cell phone numbers of the caller. Then, beginning the day after the election and for the next three months, I will call both numbers 6,7,8 or 10 times a day asking your opinion on whatever I feel like in the moment. My favorite times of day will be: during your workday and then dinner time. And just for good measure, I will throw in a few calls in the evening while you are putting your kids to bed or enjoying time with your spouse. And when you ask me if you can be removed from my distribution list, I may or may not disconnect the call and/or swear before I do so.

Here’s the thing. While I appreciate that the research has to be done, there has to be a WAY less disruptive way to do it. This feels like an invasion of my privacy, I can’t answer my phone. I work from home, I take client calls – I may have missed some because it was a number I didn’t recognize so I didn’t answer. I am going to vote, the way I want to vote….so please, I’m begging you……leave me alone!

Chris is currently a Field CTO for Tintri. In his role he spends the majority of his time talking to customers and partners alike helping develop use case architectures for the Tintri platform and software. He also acts as an active interface between the field and engineering/product management. Chris is active on the VMUG and event speaking circuit and is available for many events if you want to reach out and ask. Previously to this he spent close to a decade working for VMware as a Principal Architect. Previous to his nine plus years at VMware, Chris was a System Administrator that evolved his career into a data center architect. Chris spends a lot of time mentoring co-workers and friends on the benefits of personal growth and professional development. Chris is also amongst the first VMware Certified Design Experts (VCDX#37), and author of multiple white papers. In his spare time he helps his wife Julie run her promotional products as the accountant, book keeper, and IT Support. Chris also believes in both a healthy body and healthy mind, and has become heavily involved with fitness as a Diamond Team Beachbody Coach using P90X and other Beachbody Programs. Although Technology is his day job, Chris is passionate about fitness after losing 60 pounds himself in the last few years. Now he spreads both the word of technology and fitness along with the Team Beachbody Business through his blogs.

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Any views or opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I am solely responsible for all content published here. This is a personal blog, not a corporate blog. Content published here is not read, reviewed, or approved in advance by my employer and does not necessarily represent or reflect the views or opinions of that employer or any of its parent companies, partners or affiliates.